Erasing Kerry's gifts

WASHINGTON -- As the furor widened over Sen. John Kerry's insulting remarks about U.S. troops in Iraq, his website pulled down a listing of $4.2 million worth of contributions he had sent this year to 36 candidates for Congress.

Kerry, eyeing another presidential candidacy in 2008, has traveled the country raising funds for key contests in Tuesday's midterm elections. The now deleted information on the Kerry website displayed the photos of his beneficiaries: 18 Senate candidates receiving $3.2 million and 18 House candidates getting $1 million.

The largest Kerry contribution was $586,000 to Pennsylvania State Treasurer Bob Casey, who is running well ahead of Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. Information on the donation to Casey, found on the website, is being used by Republicans in the final days of the campaign.

JOE WILSON'S RETURN

Former Ambassador Joe Wilson, largely out of sight politically for the past two years, has reappeared at a campaign event in New York's suburban Westchester County. He was scheduled for a Friday breakfast in Mt. Kisco to support musician John Hall, who is challenging six-term Republican Rep. Sue Kelly.

Wilson was supposed to play a prominent role in Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. He disappeared politically following a Senate Intelligence Committee report contradicting his version of a 2002 mission to Africa, and he has played no part in the 2006 campaign until now.

In announcing Wilson's appearance, the Hall campaign referred to a "White House expose of his wife, Valerie Plame, as a clandestine CIA officer" -- as claimed by Wilson. It has been revealed that then Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage identified her as an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency.

NO TO CLONING?

The stem cell research amendment to the Missouri Constitution, which would protect government funding for a procedure used for human cloning, is slipping in private Republican polls and may fail.

The surveys show that Amendment Two, backed by such establishment Republicans as Gov. Matt Blunt and former Sen. John Danforth, is now supported by 49 percent to 43 percent opposed. Generally, ballot propositions must poll above 50 percent to be approved Election Day. Polls taken in September reflected support for the amendment at 59 percent.

The fate of Amendment Two in Missouri, traditionally a pro-life state, will exert major impact on the cloning issue around the country. It also may affect the Senate race between Republican Sen. Jim Talent, who opposes the amendment, and Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill, who supports it.